24 Apply for Winter Haven Community Development Director Post

A former top Polk County planner and former County Commission candidate are among the applicants to become community development director in Winter Haven.

By RYAN E. LITTLETHE LEDGER

WINTER HAVEN | A former top Polk County planner and former County Commission candidate are among the applicants to become community development director in Winter Haven.Merle Bishop, Tracy Garcia and 22 others are seeking the position created by City Manager Deric Feacher. Former Community and Economic Development Director David Dickey, a key official in the deal to sell the Chain of Lakes Complex, resigned in May. He had become involved in controversy after a letter he sent a resident promising five years of tax rebates was made public.The community development director will have different, reduced duties compared with those of Dickey. Feacher has said economic development will be solely a duty of his office.Many economic development officials and city planners applied for the job. The new job has been advertised as having a salary of $71,240 a year. Dickey was paid $105,260. Other applicants include the Winter Haven Planning Commission chairman, the city's interim community development director and a Champs Sports lead sales associate.For Bishop, 64, the former growth management department director for Polk County, the job would be a return to government work after retiring from Polk in 2007. He has worked as a consultant for private developers since then, but said Wednesday he's learned his passion lies in public service."I believe my five years plus in the private sector have given me some additional experience and perspective that I didn't have before. It certainly helps or enhances my ability to bring some skills and experience to help the city of Winter Haven."Garcia, 47, is a Winter Haven-based engineer who worked on The Landings project and has served as a commissioner and mayor in Lake Alfred. She made an unsuccessful bid for a seat on the Polk County Commission in the 2012 election.Garcia works for Winter Haven-based Carter Engineering, the engineering firm hired to design The Landings, the mixed-use development that is now the subject of a lawsuit filed against the city. Garcia said any controversy over the project should not relate to her because she never had any "decision-making power" in the project.Other applicants from Polk County are:Sal Trimarche, Winter Haven Planning Commission chairman and a manufacturing project manager.Andy Palmer, project development coordinator in Winter Haven.Joey Murphy, interim community development director and engineer in Winter Haven.Harold Gallup, former economic development director in Lake Wales before the position was defunded.Kathleen Campbell, community sales manager for Highland Homes.Carly Evans, director of career services for Everest University in Lakeland.Eric Labbe, program manager for the Central Florida Regional Planning Council.Marcela Stanislaus, vice president of operations for a Lakeland-based public planning firm.Robert Copeland, a former circulation manager tions for the Ledger Media Group.Chris Dowdy, legislative assistant for State Sen. Kelli Stargel.Brian LaBrie, architectural historian in Gainesville, Ga. Marlon Austin, lead sales associate at Champ Sports in Lakeland.